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What Is Nexo Cryptocurrency?

What Is Nexo Cryptocurrency?

It is estimated that the digital asset market, which consists of currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, will grow to a staggering US$5 trillion by 2058. This domain has been growing steadily and has drawn interest from a plethora of investors, miners, and entrepreneurs in just two to three years. Even though blockchain technology has yet to gain widespread acceptance, this sector is projected to reach an even higher overall market capitalization as that happens.

Nexo is an all-new blockchain-driven platform that aims to provide interested users with instant crypto-backed loans. As things stand today, there are no ways for digital asset owners to utilize their crypto holdings other than to sell them at lucrative rates. Nexo makes use of a highly innovative business model wherein users can retain 100% ownership of their digital assets while having immediate access to cash.

According to the company, these instant crypto-backed loans are an “automatic, flexible and cost-efficient means of obtaining liquidity that is secured by the value of the client’s digital assets.” The entire process of procuring loans is simple and can be completed within a matter of minutes. Some of the key benefits of using Nexo include:

No hidden fees

No capital gains taxes

No credit checks

Even a high level of transparency is ensured, since the platform utilizes blockchain technology, smart contracts, and algorithmic processes, all of which are executed via the native Nexo Oracle module.

OVERVIEW OF THE PLATFORM

Nexo’s core dev and business teams consist of individuals who have been in the fintech sector for more than a decade.

The company is strictly supervised by multiple European banking and financial services regulators.

The Nexo advisory board consists of many prominent members of the finance industry, including the founders of TechCrunch and Polymath.

The NEXO token is US-SEC compliant and is backed by the underlying assets of Nexo’s loan portfolio.

Nexo has an easy-to-use UI which is bolstered by a high degree of privacy and anonymity.

KEY FEATURES

The NEXO token is a US-SEC compliant, dividend-paying, asset-backed security-currency which is backed by the underlying assets of Nexo’s loan portfolio. Nexo’s clients have the opportunity to receive cash instantly anywhere from various parts of the globe. Such a high level of asset liquidity is something which is not common in the crypto sector.

The latest Binance Research, while showcasing China’s CBDC initiative, highlighted its possibility of being a renminbi (RMB) replacement. Creating a buzz in the context, the report read,

“The People’s Bank of China plans to replace China’s M0 money supply with its CBDC. Several potential improvement areas were discussed as reasons to justify this move including retail payments, interbank clearing and cross-border payments.”

Moreover, as the Chinese CBDC targets to be a substitute for China’s M0 supply, CBDC-holders would not receive any interest from the central bank if it is not parked in any financial institutions. This will ensure that China’s crypto initiative “would not compete with commercial bank deposits, and would not have a noticeable impact on the existing economy in this regard.”

Interestingly enough, China’s CBDC initiative includes “some of the missing elements” that is predominantly lacked by the private currencies. The two-layer network setup is also speculated to achieve transaction performance of “at least 300,000 transactions per second.”

Source: Binance Research

The above graph displays PBoC’s “one coin, two repositories, and three centers”approach, which was previously proposed by Yao Qian, the former head of PBoC’s Digital Currency Research Institute. Concluding the report, Binance Research mentioned,

“Despite one of the end-goals from this digital currency initiative being to further internationalize the renminbi, it remains to be seen what legislation would apply on cross-border payments.”

While the report uncovers various technical aspects of China’s crypto initiative, it remains unclear whether that individuals, based outside of China, would rely on the Chinese central bank to both maintain a consistent monetary policy and to protect their financial privacy.

The Business of Crypto Lending for the Crypto HODLer

Businesses are built around opportunity costs. Real entrepreneurs say that there is an opportunity cost for everything under the sun. The need to make more from the growing cryptocurrency industry has led to the creation of new services. Cryptocurrency lending platforms are one of the most robust emerging narratives in crypto.

Businesses are built around opportunity costs. Real entrepreneurs say that there is an opportunity cost for everything under the sun. The need to make more from the growing cryptocurrency industry has led to the creation of new services. Cryptocurrency lending platforms are one of the most robust emerging narratives in crypto.

The purpose of these platforms is to assist crypto holders to leverage their digital assets without liquidating them. Before the emergence of these platforms, any digital assets holder had to sell their tokens to access capital.

Crypto lending suits Holders’

Crypto Holders are investors who purchase a digital asset and hold on it whether it rises or falls. These folks are highly invested and confident in the use case of cryptocurrencies. The term is a 2013 creation, an acronym for Hold on for Dear Life. The abbreviation is apt for the severely volatile up and down price movements of digital currencies.

Most cryptocurrency holders purchase these assets for speculative purposes. The process known as Holding is synonymous with Bitcoin holders. Bitcoin Holders, for instance, believe that one-day one token will be worth $1 million. Most of them will, therefore, not part with their tokens until then.

Others digital assets investors are in it for quick cash. They will buy and sell as the assets as their prices rise or fall for profit. This group of investors is profoundly affected by the market’s volatile nature, and they trade in the same way as day traders.

Holders usually turn to these lending platforms to enjoy earning a passive income. What you need to need is to deposit your digital assets with one of these startups and make interest over time. Your digital assets will gain exposure to the market’s upward price movements.

Institutional investors are rather fond of this option. With it, they can hedge their positions and implement safe and new trading algorithms for profit. Another great benefit of digital assets lending is that it does not ban crypto users with poor credit scores from accessing funds.

If you have had a rough time accessing credit from traditional lenders, these platforms will be a breath of fresh air. This form of financing has in the past not had a tax bill, though the US IRS has been implementing crypto taxation laws. As it is, leveraging your digital assets to get fiat financing is still not taxable. It is, consequently, a very attractive form of funding.

Types of cryptocurrency lending

Margin lending

This type of crypto lending will allow you to use your digital assets collateral. To enjoy margin lending, you first need to deposit or lend you assets to a lending exchange. You are then expected to mark your holdings as available for credit and assign an interest charge.

The person who is going to borrow your digital assets will do so hoping that their prices will rise. They will request the capital from your lending exchange if your interest rate suits them. After they have traded with your cash, they will return it to the exchange plus the interest amount owed to you.

How are the digital assets protected when lent out?

Cryptocurrencies are operable online and very volatile. This characteristic of high volatility is the part of the reason why they can make you huge profits in margin trading. Digital assets are also very prone to theft and loss.

To protect you from losses from volatility, the exchange has certain safeguards. The borrowers, for instance, have put down a percentage of their crypto as collateral for your loan. If the trade dips, a margin call will be rung and the borrower will return your funds plus interest. Some of the most common lending platforms online for margin lending include Coincheck, Bitfinex, and Poloniex.

Peer to peer crypto lending

Also known as P2P lending, this form of crypto lending will allow you to borrow capital straight from investors. There are no institutions or intermediaries in between which makes it easier, faster, and more affordable to get a loan.

The process works in an online borrower lender-matching marketplace, you can see by clicking here . These platforms will match you with a private investor who has money to lend. You, the borrower will need to repay the borrowed crypto, and the lending platform

sets the interest charge.

Your creditworthiness plus the cash transfers dictate the interest charge. It is also dictated by the payments done through the platform.

How automated P2P crypto lending works

An investor with crypto to lend needs to first open an account on the lending site. The digital assets will then be deposited on the account

A borrower will log on to their account on the website and fill out a loan application

The lending site will perform a credit check to ascertain the borrower’s creditworthiness. They will then assign an interest rate as per results.

The crypto lender will offer a loan to the borrower who is free to reject or accept it the offer

Perchance the borrower agrees with the offer, the lent crypto has to be returned bank with interest after the lending time has matured. If the borrower is late with payments, they will pay the penalty.

Some of the most common P2P crypto lending platforms, include CircleBack and Upstart.

Advantages of crypto lending

This lending process is not reliant on the use of credit scores, unlike traditional financing. The digital assets are instead utilized as collateral for cash borrowing. All you need to do therefore is to post your Bitcoin, for instance as security for a loan.

You will receive your funds and pack in monthly installments. Once you are done repaying the loan, you will get your Bitcoin back. If you default on the loan repayments, your cash lender will have the right to seize your digital assets placed as collateral.

Crypto lending protects the players in the market by over collateralizing borrowing. If you, for instance, need to borrow $5000, you might be expected to place $10,000 worth of your Bitcoin to access cash loans.

While excessive, it protects the lender from the extremely volatile cryptocurrency market. Over collateralizing, these credit facilities keep more players in the platforms, who would otherwise be put off by the sudden devaluing that could happen to crypto.

Crypto lenders are also allowed to liquidate digital currencies held as collateral if the market dips. This mechanism is a failsafe to protect the lender if digital assets are suddenly devalued. If you have experienced substantial financial gains in the crypto market, crypto lending is one of the best ways to protect your capital gains from taxation.

You should secure crypto-backed loans, which are untaxed. This borrowing is not considered as sale of digital assets, which is taxable by US law. With crypto lending, anyone with digital assets can earn some passive income on a lending platform. The interest earned by lending out crypto can be plowed back to purchase more of the assets.

Lending platforms will protect your assets by holding them in cold storage wallets. Some platforms also enable lending via smart contracts and blockchain technology to ensure trust. The loans are therefore secured and the records immutable.

Lending your cryptocurrencies is an easy way of making passive income. You do not have to man the assets while they are on the platform. All you have to do is sign up, lend, and wait for the interest payments. In contrast, day traders have to keep their eyes on their assets to cash in at the right time.

The lender has minimum risks. The systems are automated to ensure that you receive the funds automatically.

The risks

The market is not highly regulated. If there any arising legal matters, you could find yourself in uncharted waters. With conventional banking and lending systems, there are well-governed laws.

Interest charges are set daily, so your profit is never assured.

The platforms could also charge extremely high commission rates, which may encourage less borrowing.

The final word

There are many benefits to crypto lending when compared to traditional loans. This new type of credit line is accessible 24/7 with minimum counterparty risk. There is also real-time transparency into lending due to blockchain technology. The UI/UX on these lending sites is still niche and mostly attracts crypto fans.

The millionaire cryptocurrency analyst and trader told The Independent that more investors are viewing bitcoin as a safe-haven asset in the wake of growing macroeconomic tensions. Isaacs referred to the ongoing trade conflicts between the U.S. and China that last month sent the global equity market on a downward trend. The negative sentiment prompted investors to hedge in cryptocurrencies. He stated:

“I believe bitcoin has the potential to hit $25,000 by the end of 2019 or early 2020. There are multiple drivers behind the recent resurgence. There are geopolitical, technological, and regulatory drivers. The net effect of the trade war between the U.S. and China has led to a sudden interest in bitcoin as a hedge on investments.”

The statement followed bitcoin’s dramatic correction in the recent market cycle. The cryptocurrency dropped by more than 18% after establishing its 2019 high near $9,090 on San Francisco-based exchange, Coinbase. Nevertheless, bitcoin remains in a positive trendfrom a broader outlook, with its year-to-date performance showing as much as 146% gains.

Isaacs noted that the bitcoin adoption rate is heading in the direction of the cryptocurrency’s price. He cited significant organization like Amazon, Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Microsoft that recently started accepting BTC payments, indicating that the cryptocurrency ecosystem has turned more positive since crashing more than 85% in 2018.

THE BEARISH TAKE ON BITCOIN

Meanwhile, other notably analysts believe bitcoin is due for a considerable drop. Willy Woo, the founder of Woobull.com, said the cryptocurrency has become overvalued following the latest upside movements. The analyst put bitcoin against his popular NVT metric, which represents the ratio of bitcoin’s market capitalization to the volume transmitted by its blockchain. He noted a considerable divergence between the current bitcoin price and the NVT Ratio (explained here), which is bearish:

Presently the market price of BTC has outstripped organic investor flow unseen since the bull market mania phases of 2013 and 2017. Never before have we seen such a divergence so early in the bull market. pic.twitter.com/S3rfBKdlzL

Josh Rager, another prominent analyst, provided a less harsh bitcoin price outlook, stating that a sharp downside correction would attract more investors to purchase it at cheaper rates. He noted that the BTC-to-dollar exchange rate dropped by at least 30% after every significant bullish move on a broader timeframe, as shown in the graph below.

If Rager is correct, BTC could go as low as $6,000 before attempting a sharp pullback to reclaim the session top of $9,090.